Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ventilation device for ventilating a room in a building, said building comprising a window, said window comprising at least two essentially parallel panes of glass, said at least two panes of glass being arranged in a common frame, casement or sash, hereinafter referred to as a frame, or in two or more juxtaposed and preferably connected frames, thus forming said window, e.g., a double window, where said at least two panes of glass are arranged with a distance, and thus, appear with an air space between said panes of glass, said window further comprising an intake opening communicating with said air space and with either the interior or the exterior of said building, where said ventilation device further comprises a preheating unit, comprising a first chassis and a first throttle, where said first chassis comprises a first opening communicating with the interior of said building, a second opening communicating with the exterior of said building and a third opening communicating with said air space.
Description of Related Art
It is well known to have window constructions that in some manner are arranged together with ventilation systems, that allow air to be circulated from the outside to the inside of a room or building, by guiding the air between two panes of glass and into the inside. This is done to ventilate the room or building with air that is preheated during its flow between the two panes of glass. Over the years it has been common to regulate such a flow by manually opening and closing shutters or sliding doors at the bottom and at the top of a window frame. This is however dependent of that an operator actually operates the mentioned shutters or sliding doors and as it is a manual process, an optimum operation is practically impossible to obtain.
In order to have a more controlled system various complex solutions have been presented. European Patent Application EP 1 809 848 B1 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 8,221,201 B2 describes a solution comprising a rather complicated cartridge consisting of no less than four slide throttles, two thermo-hydraulic actuators, and two chambers. This cartridge is suitable for arranging in the top member of a window frame and is controlled solely by said thermo-hydraulic actuators which are connected to said slide throttles. As mentioned before, this is a rather complex solution and the cartridge is quite complicated and thus also expensive. Furthermore there is only one way of controlling this system, namely via said thermo-hydraulic actuators which sense or react according to the temperature at the position of the cartridge—actually inside the cartridge. The system is thus not very reactive and rather large fluctuations in temperature between the panes of glass, outside or inside the building can occur without the system even responding.
From German Patent Application DE 30 43 783 A1 another system is known, that also is rather complex. This system comprises two units—one in the lower and one in the upper window frame. Both of these units may be operated individually and manually between four different positions on each unit. Said units can be mechanically connected by e.g., a chain or belt connection that has to be built into the window frame, thus allowing both units to be operated by one manual control means. Further, the units in this system are constructed with an outer cylindrical tube with a number of holes in the periphery that interact with corresponding holes or bores in a central inner cylindrical regulating member installed inside said tube. By rotating the inner part of the two units, in relation to the outer part, air can be directed into various directions. A solution as this also has the drawback of being rather high and thus demanding a rather high window frame, which will “steal” relatively much of the regular window area, and thus, allow less light to enter the building.
European Patent Application EP 0 164 111 A2 teach a device that is operated based on temperatures, humidity and other factors such as CO2 content in the air. Also, this solution is rather complex as it comprises a motorized ventilator, that is used to force a flow of air between the panes of glass. Further, this solution also teaches to arrange a ventilation device comprising a valve in both the top frame and in the bottom frame of the window, where both devises are operated in common. The valves seem to be either open or closed—operated cyclic between end positions—and not able to be adjusted in a step less manner. Further the passage through the valve is shaped as a narrow mélange and will only allow for a rather large flow when forcing the air to circulate by activating the mentioned ventilator. The solution as described in European Patent Application EP 0 164 111 A2 is claimed to be suitable for installation in special windows and doors, and is indeed not suitable to be arranged in a standard frame, e.g., a wooden frame, as the design and all the needed devices are rather bulky and complex.
As can be understood from the above, these known solutions are somewhat complex, expensive to build and install in window constructions, and they are not very easy to operate and to control in a manner that allows good and efficient use of the ventilating system, which when taken seriously can contribute quite a bit to a better environment in the building and at the same time save cost for heating and/or cooling when used in a proper way. Thus there is still room for improvement and a simpler and more effective solution calls for development.